World Cup: Eagles battle star-studded Croatia in Kaliningrad

Croatia vs Nigeria
Venue: Kaliningrad Stadium
Kick off: 8PM

Croatia and Nigeria meet for the first time in Kaliningrad this evening in a World Cup clash that could prove crucial to their chances.
Argentina are hot favourites to win Group D and, with Euro 2016 quarter-finalists Iceland potentially awkward opponents, both sides will aim to boost their hopes of progressing with three points by the Baltic Sea.
Nigeria, the lowest-ranked side in the group, reached the last 16 in Brazil four years ago but come into this tournament having failed to win any of their last four friendlies, with manager Gernot Rohr hinting he will revert back to previous formations to help the Super Eagles seal a victory.
Nigeria will face Argentina for the fifth time in just their sixth World Cup finals appearance in Russia, and they’re yet to win a single one.
“We were trying out different formations but we are going to switch back to the way we played over the last year coming to this World Cup. If we do exactly what we know we can do, to control the game and be aggressive, we can do well,” Rohr said.
“Our players have a lot to prove and this is a very good stage for them but it’s also important to keep their emotions in check. We are staying humble but we are also ambitious and if we are to get out of this group, we have to make a result against Croatia.”
Croatia boast the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic in their ranks but failed to progress from the group stage in Brazil and needed a play-off to reach Russia.
But manager Zlatko Dalic is confident he has the perfect mix of youth and experience this time around, saying: “We have a very good set of players who are the driving forces of big clubs and young players – it’s a good mixture of youth and experience.
“It is right that expectations are high and we expect from ourselves more than anybody else. I hope we will prove all those flattering epithets right and that this generation will get a result with some luck along the way. We are full of self-belief and ready to show some good football.”